1. Technical Field
This invention relates to the field of decorative Christmas tree lights. More specifically it relates to an ornamental light system which is adjustable in size and shape by a user and which gives the perception of directional movement of light.
2. Description of the Background Art
Holiday season decorations used in the home or small business are generally limited by availability and cost to conventional non-flashing or randomly flashing lights commonly used for decorating indoor and outdoor trees. It would often be desireable to employ flashing lights that contain visually interesting patterns or sequences such as fading, chasing or flickering.
Positioning lights on trees, windows, or walls requires considerable skill and patience in order to avoid an unsightly conglomeration of tangled wires.
In U.S. Pat. No. 2,802,095, Denning describes a plastic or metal tree lighting bracket provided with decorative lights at spaced intervals along its length. The bracket is physically connected to tree limbs by flexible metal straps and bracket and branch are likewise supported from the tree trunk. The visual effect is a laterally extending branch with several lights spaced along its axis.
Canadian Patent No. 615,231, issued to Miller, describes a vertically elongate receptacle secured to the trunk of a tree. Individual electric conductors can be connected anywhere along the strip receptacle, permitting the routing of wires close to the branches.
Rhoades, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,462,065, describes an elongate tubular member mounted on a tree trunk that has a bracket at the top end receiving a plurality of light branches. Each light branch is constructed of an elongate rod having an electric cord with multiple lights attached. The visual effect is a number of strings of Christmas tree lights emanating from the trunk and following a curved path among the tree branches.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,614,528, Craddock discloses an electrical circuit for periodically and essentially randomly flashing a plurality of gas discharge tubes in a Christmas tree light system
Likewise, Chiang, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,713,586, describes a randomly flashing decorative light set, producing the visual effect of sparkling and twinkling. The light set accomplishes this effect without a long extending wire from an external power source.
What would be particularly useful is an adjustable system wherein a user can selectively design lighting effects, for example, the size of circles or other shapes. It would also be desireable to have a decorative lighting system that is not restricted to a tree, but could be displayed in windows, on walls, on tables, etc., much in the same manner as commercial decorative lighting. Such a system would need to be safe, easy to install and operate free of wire entanglement and inexpensive.